A full residential Christmas scheme covers the tree, the entrance, the staircase, the fireplaces and the dining table, designed as one idea rather than five separate ones. Professional private residence Christmas decorations are planned around the home's architecture, existing interiors and the family's preferences. A florist visits the house, designs to the existing interior, installs while the family is out, maintains anything fresh through the season, and removes it in January. Most of the work is booked by someone other than the homeowner, which is what this guide is for.
Who actually books this
Very few luxury residential schemes are arranged by the person who lives in the house. They are arranged by a house manager, an estate manager, a private PA, an interior designer already working on the property, or a concierge service acting for the family.
That matters, because the person briefing the florist is rarely the person whose taste is being served. A planner's job is to get a scheme the principal loves without twelve rounds of approval, which comes down to how well the first brief is written.
What a full scheme covers
The tree, or the trees. Height matters more than anything. A tree that reads generously in a showroom looks apologetic under a double-height hall, and a tree that fits a room on paper can overwhelm it once dressed. Larger houses often run a formal tree in the hall and a softer, more personal one where the family actually sits.
The entrance. Front door wreath, porch, and whatever greets an arriving guest. This is the most photographed element of most schemes. From handcrafted Christmas flowers and wreaths to a fully dressed entrance, the design should feel connected to the rest of the property.
The staircase. Banister garlands are the signature of a residential scheme and the element most likely to cause problems in a period house. More on that below.
Fireplaces and mantels. Reception rooms, usually the most detailed work in the house.
The dining table. Often the piece that gets restyled more than once across the season.
Secondary rooms. Kitchens, snugs, guest bedrooms, dressing rooms. Lower spend, and often where the family notices the care.
What to send before the first site visit
A good brief shortens everything that follows. Send:
Photographs of every room in the scheme, taken in daylight, including the empty corner where the tree will stand. Ceiling heights, especially in the hall. The existing palette, or better, a photograph of the room's fabrics. Any fixed constraint, such as a listed interior, a delicate banister, or surfaces that cannot take weight. What must be included, which usually means family ornaments. Access windows, meaning when the house is free. And who else will be on site, because decorators, cleaners and contractors competing for the same morning is a common and avoidable mess.
If the principal has a reference image, send that too. A single saved photograph resolves more debate than a paragraph of description.
What is different about a home
This is where residential work diverges from commercial, and where most of the avoidable problems come from.
Heat and light
A private house is warmer than a hotel lobby and often much drier, particularly with underfloor heating or a fire lit every evening. Fresh foliage that would hold for a fortnight in a commercial space can look tired in a week over a radiator or above a working fireplace.
The practical answer is a mixed scheme. Fresh material where it can be seen, reached and refreshed. Preserved or high-quality faux where the heat is worst or the position is awkward. Any florist who proposes all-fresh for a hot hallway either has not seen the hallway or is planning on maintenance visits you have not budgeted for.
Period and listed properties
Listed interiors bring real constraints. No fixings into plasterwork or original joinery. Weight limits on antique banisters, which look sturdier than they are. Protection for stone, marble and polished timber, because garland wire and water both mark.
Ask how the scheme attaches before anyone commits. A competent installer will describe a fixing method rather than say it will be fine.
Children and pets
Glass at low level is the obvious one. Less obvious is botanical material. Holly berries, mistletoe, yew and ivy are all toxic if eaten, and a garland shedding berries onto a floor where a toddler or a dog plays is a genuine problem rather than a theoretical one.
Flag children and animals in the brief. It changes what goes where, not whether a scheme can be beautiful.
Heirloom ornaments
Almost every family has a box of ornaments with no design logic and enormous sentimental weight. The mistake is treating this as an obstacle.
The better approach is deciding early where those pieces live. Often that means a designed formal tree in the hall and a family tree in the room where Christmas morning happens, with the heirlooms on the second one. Everyone gets what they actually wanted.
Planning for more than one moment
A private house at Christmas rarely has a single event. There may be a drinks party in mid December, a family Christmas Day, and a New Year dinner, each wanting a different table and sometimes a different mood.
Decide upfront whether the scheme is installed once or restyled between moments. Restyling costs more, and it is far cheaper agreed in advance than requested on 27 December. If the family has more than one property, agree the sequence early, because two houses dressed in the same fortnight is a scheduling question as much as a design one.
What moves the cost
Residential pricing is almost never published, so any real figure comes from a site visit. Five things drive it.
The number of rooms, which is the largest single factor.
Tree height, because anything above standard reach brings access equipment and a second pair of hands.
Fresh versus preserved, since fresh needs maintenance visits and preserved does not.
Bespoke elements, meaning anything fabricated to the house rather than sourced.
Restyling, if the table or the scheme changes across the season.
Ask for the figure including installation, maintenance and removal. A quote covering only the install is not comparable to one covering the season.
Access, discretion and installation day
Most residential installs happen while the family is away, which means the florist is working in an empty house with staff present. Agree in advance who holds keys, who manages alarm codes, whether parking or a loading bay is needed, and who signs off on the day if the principal is not there.
Discretion is not an add-on in this market. Ask whether the studio will sign a confidentiality agreement, and whether photographs of the finished scheme can be taken for the family's own use but not published. A studio that hesitates on either is the wrong studio.
Finally, agree removal. Some families want everything gone on Twelfth Night. Others want it left until they return from travelling. It is a five-second conversation in November and an irritating one in January.
For more complex properties, a complete installation involves design, sourcing, access planning and coordinated removal. Amaranté's luxury Christmas installation service covers these stages, with each scheme designed around the individual space.
When to book
Residential work is the most flexible of the Christmas categories, but good designers still fill up, and anyone dressing hotels and restaurants alongside private houses is scheduling both against the same November fortnight.
Start the conversation in late summer for a considered scheme. Early autumn is comfortable. If you are enquiring in November, ask directly what is still achievable rather than assuming it is nothing.
Questions to ask before you commit
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Does the quote include installation, maintenance visits and removal?
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How will garlands attach in a period property, and what protects the surfaces?
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Which elements are fresh and which are preserved, and why?
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When will you install, and does that work around the household?
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Will you sign a confidentiality agreement?
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Can family ornaments be worked into the scheme?
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What happens if we want the table restyled for New Year?
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Where do the flowers come from?
Designing a scheme for your client's home
Amaranté designs Christmas schemes for private residences alongside our hotel, restaurant and corporate work, dressing over 100 venues a year across London and the UK. Every installation uses the same sourcing as our commercial projects, and we are Fairtrade and B Corp certified, so the provenance question has a documented answer rather than a reassuring one.
If you are planning Christmas for a client or a family, tell us about the property and we will arrange a site visit.
Plan Your Luxury Christmas Decorations with Amaranté
Amaranté designs bespoke Christmas decorations for private residences across London, from statement trees and elegant staircase garlands to complete festive installations.
Working with homeowners, house managers, private PAs and interior designers, our team creates considered schemes around each property's architecture, interiors and individual requirements.
Explore our private residence floral styling and seasonal decoration services, or enquire about your Christmas plans to arrange a consultation and discuss available installation dates.
Frequently asked questions
Who usually arranges Christmas decorating for a private home?
Most often a house manager, estate manager, private PA, interior designer or concierge service, acting on behalf of the household rather than the homeowner directly.
Can we use our own family ornaments?
Yes, and it is worth saying so in the brief. Many schemes run a designed formal tree alongside a family tree carrying heirloom pieces.
Do you decorate period or listed properties?
Yes, with fixing methods chosen to avoid damage to plasterwork, joinery and stone. Ask any florist to describe their approach before work begins.
How long do fresh decorations last in a heated house?
Less time than in a commercial space. Central heating and open fires dry foliage quickly, which is why most good residential schemes mix fresh material in visible, reachable positions with preserved elements where the heat is worst.
When are the decorations taken down?
Usually January, timed either to Twelfth Night or to the family's return from travelling. Agree it when you book.